


Cry OC, and let slip the sues of fic

by Elf (Elfwreck)



Series: OC Meta Thoughts [2]
Category: No Fandom
Genre: Fanfiction, Gen, Meta, Nonfiction, Original Character(s), Writing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-29
Updated: 2011-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:35:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23159395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elfwreck/pseuds/Elf
Summary: I want to think about (and therefore, inflict on you) the fandoms that *could* have lots of OC fic, but just don't.
Series: OC Meta Thoughts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1664782
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3
Collections: March Meta Matters Challenge





	Cry OC, and let slip the sues of fic

As a result of comments to my recent [post about fanfic & original characters](http://elf.dreamwidth.org/418207.html), I've been pondering which fandoms lend themselves to OC-heavy fic, maybe only-OC fic. I'm focusing on common media fandoms, rather than things like tabletop games or works of art or songs; I'm not addressing fandoms that many fanfic archives wouldn't acknowledge as sources for fic. I want to think about (and therefore, inflict you) the fandoms that *could* have lots of OC fic, but just don't.

Some fandoms, especially modern ones, don't lend themselves well to original character stories; the storylines are too tightly wound with the canonical characters. While it's always possible to make original characters, touch on some aspect of canon, and go from there, it wouldn't necessarily feel to readers like it was set in the same world. While it's possible to write a fic about the FBI white collar crime division before Peter Burke worked there, it'd be hard to establish what makes it "White Collar fic."

I'm also going to skip some well-known fandoms with lots of OC fic: Elfquest, Pern, Darkover, Star Trek (which got a lot more OC fic in the paper zine heyday than it does now), Sime~Gen, LotR, and Harry Potter. I wanted to consider fandoms that haven't already been explored through original characters, or not much, so I made a list. Of course, it's possible I've listed a fandom that has plenty of original character fic, and I just hadn't noticed. In that case, let me know, and I'll cross out that fandom & come up with another one. I firmly believe there are hundreds of fandoms that could be wonderful settings for OC-based fic.

**8 Fandoms That Would Be Great For Original Character Fic**

**1) DC Comics Universe -** Any of the "events" that swept through multiple series would be great background stories for non-canonical character fic. No Man's Land involved millions of people; it would be a rich source of stories about surviving an inner-city apocalypse without government support. Or what about the nearby communities--how did people deal with the US Gov't declaring a huge city "no longer part of the US?" Infinite Crisis rewrote reality; the vigilantes can't be the only ones with altered timelines as a result. And there's plenty of spots for vigilantes who don't have a spot in the comics to exist. Darkest Night (which I know only through the posts at [](https://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/profile)[**scans_daily**](https://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/) seems like it would be memorable for a lot more than the costumed heroes. And so on. Aside from the endless opportunities for "life story of J. Random Citizen of Gotham or Metropolis, and why the hell are the cars walking on their hind wheels today?," the big crossover events would be great sources for DC-based stories with entirely original characters.

 **2) Dr. Who -** All those worlds. All those times. All those outcast villains from alien races we only see once. All those spaceships from planets & societies we've never visited. How do Slitheen non-criminals deal with alien visitors to their home planet? Someone could write a romance between two young people (seedlings?) from the Tree of Cheem. And the Ood. Whether it's a random human meeting an isolated (lost?) Ood, or Ood political maneuverings within their own culture, the web needs more Oodfic. (It's possible that, with a 50+ year history, there is *plenty* of OC based Dr Who fanfic, in which case, say something & I'll come up with an alternate. If there's not, I didn't want to overlook this one.)

 **3) X-Files -** As much as the gov't tried to keep the aliens secret, there had to be plenty of other people who encountered their activities. And the series found vampires, werewolves, weird psychic powers, and secret clans with subversive agendas all over the US; any of their stories, or the stories of the other people who found them, would be great settings for fic. We could have stories of the infantry soldiers who wound up fighting one of the supersoldiers. Remove Mulder, Scully & Skinner, and you have a world rife with conspiracies and bizarre creatures and people with exotic powers.

 **4) Pirates of the Caribbean -** While it could be argued that there's not much difference between original characters in PotC and any other age of sail settings, PotC has magical elements that the historical fandoms lack. The Black Pearl sailed for 10 years without Jack Sparrow, raiding ports and terrifying sailors; any of their stories would be worth hearing. Aztec gold can't be the only cursed treasure in the world. Bound goddesses, squidly transformations, ships that move between worlds--plenty of space in this fandom for characters who've never met Captain Jack Sparrow.

 ~~ **5) Star Wars -**~~ Do I really have to say anything about this? Aliens. Space wars. Legal slavery. Mystical orders of warriors with psychic powers. AI droids. Clones. Midi-fucking-chlorians. We could have stories about the mechanics who worked on parts of the Death Star. About the slave uprisings on Tattooine. About the kids who wash out of Jedi training after they've learned several of the nifty tricks. About droid rights activism. About the homeworlds of any of the aliens in the cantina in Mos Eisley. About any of the rebel scouts who didn't run into Luke and Han, but have been fighting the Empire for years. It's as rich a setting as Trek, without the brain-hurty teleporters & replicators to get in the way of decent puzzle-based stories. _(I'm told SW has, or at least had, substantial original character fic, so I'm putting another fandom in its number slot.)_

 **5) Avatar: The Last Airbender -** Four elemental-magic nations with hundreds of years of history and special powers, a world rich in creatures and cultures that we've seen in glimpses as Aang rushes through. Any of the places he's visited on his journeys could have whole novels written about it, or we could have stories about places not in canon at all. Post-canon is especially rich in story opportunities; the world's gone through an upheaval. Legal changes, new trade routes, old hostilities flaring in spots, and somehow, the airbenders need to get repopulated--all good sources for fic.

 **6) Warehouse 13 -** The show itself is strongly character-based, but the basic premise is object-based, with the objects being "objects with weird powers that the government is hiding." Any weird-powered device could be the basis of a story—a freak tornado could rip the lid off the warehouse and send items scattered over several nearby counties, a foreign dignitary could plan the theft of their ancestral crown & scepter, an item could decide it's lonely and start looking for a new home. The teams that collect the items and bring them to the warehouse could be the focus of stories. The history of the warehouse itself—how it was built, the problems with bringing in the first items, the hassles of hiding it from the nearby community—could be told.

 ~~ **7) Discworld -**~~ While it's possible that any story could be overwritten (jossed?) by Pratchett later, I think it would do fandom no harm to have many epic tales of the struggles of natives of the Forest of Skund to kick out their invaders, the ~~incompetence~~ bravery of the Klatchian Foreign Legion, and the ~~violent, greedy, lazy and hostile~~ idyllic day-to-day life of the ~~denizens~~ citizens of Ankh Morpork. The tale of the street kids who sell Genuine Animal Meat to C.M.O.T. Dibbler would make a fine ~~study in abnormal psychology~~ novel or short story. A troll romance wouldn't need to mention any canonical characters. The other bands of Bands With Rocks In might have their own stories, or we might get their groupies' stories, after the spirit of Music With Rocks In was driven out. [Three continents](http://www.woodge.com/books/maps/map_discworld.jpg), many islands, four elephants & a turtle in space… plenty of room for stories about not-yet-named characters. _(Apparently, Discworld has substantial OC fic somewhere, which is not surprising in the least.)_

 **7) Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter -** Hamilton's blakeverse (which, apparently, is not the same as the gentryverse, but they're probably compatible enough for easy crossovers) has vampires, werewolves & other shapeshifters, witches, demons, and the occasional other random supernatural entity. There's a complex legal system set up for them, and the weird little monster-worshiping cults & groupies, and most of the "monster" types have their own internal politics that are just coming into public awareness now that they're legal. In most states, that is. Plenty of room for fic about vampire power dynamics in cities we haven't heard from or isolated werewolves whose whole packs got killed when they accidentally crossed the border into one of the "vermin" states. Room for stories about the religious groups that hate the "monsters," or that love them and believe that becoming a vampire is god's reward for good behavior. Fic about doctors who specialize in vampire pregnancy complications, or lawyers who specialize in orphan werecritter children's rights. Fic about whole new types of shifters--are there werebears? Were-eagles, werewolverines, werethylacines?

 **8) Vorkosigan -** This lends itself both to narrow-focus stories (on Barrayar, Vor society) and broad-scope fic that touches on aspects of the Vorkosiverse only mentioned in passing. Each Vor house is allowed 20 Armsmen—but we only know the name of a tiny handful of Vorkosigan's, and a tiny handful of others. The Pretendership story could be retold from several perspectives: Vordarian's Armsmen, the imperial residence guards, the shopkeepers in the capital, the servants of council members on various sides, the families on the South Continent who didn't hear about anything until it was all over. The Cetagandan War is also recent during most of Miles' adventures; stories about the war, or about grandparents teaching their contemporary-with-Miles grandchildren about Cetagandans, are both possible. Cetagandans: there's another endless source of fic, with bio-engineered characters & creatures all over the place. Or an author might focus on Jackson's Whole—the aftermath of Miles & Mark's last visit is story-fodder for years. Or, back on Barrayar, there's room for a whole series of Time of Isolation stories, from the initial wormhole collapse to the discovery of the Komarran wormhole. The Vorkosiverse just begs for tiny fragments of worldbuilding to be developed into living stories.

I didn't list Supernatural, Stargate, or Merlin because I don't know them well enough to describe what kinds of awesome OC-based stories they could have. I didn't list the Wild Cards books, Mystery Men, or the Well of Souls because, despite their awesomeness as OC-story settings, they're just too obscure; they'd read as plain original fiction to all but their fairly tiny slices of fandom.

Now I want someone to put together an OC ficfest.

_ETA: Crossed out two I've been told have lots of OC fic that the internet has been hiding from me; added two more._  


**Author's Note:**

> Originally at <http://elf.dreamwidth.org/421035.html>, where there are comments.


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